Mississippi Cosmetology Board Practice Exam

The terms "decolorizing" and "bleaching" in cosmetology fundamentally refer to the process of lightening hair color. This is achieved through chemical reactions that remove or alter the pigments within the hair shaft, making the hair appear lighter. When a cosmetologist decolorizes or bleaches hair, they use specific products that contain strong oxidizing agents—usually hydrogen peroxide or ammonia—designed to break down the existing color.

In contrast to the other options, adding color to hair, conditioning hair, and texturizing hair involve different processes and techniques that do not focus on lightening. Adding color would involve depositing pigments into the hair, while conditioning aims to improve the hair's health and manageability, and texturizing focuses on changing the hair's structure or creating specific styles. Hence, the correct understanding of "decolorizing" and "bleaching" directly correlates to lightening hair color.